Things That Made Travelling Around Japan Much Easier Than We Expected

When we started looking at travelling around Japan, we realised we'd become pretty lazy planners.

After months of travelling through Asia we'd got into the habit of booking things a few days ahead and just figuring the rest out as we went. Japan wasn't really any different.

The only difference was that Tokyo looked absolutely terrifying.

Every video we watched seemed to show thousands of people pouring through stations in every direction, trains arriving every few seconds and signs that looked like they belonged in a spaceship. I was convinced we'd spend the first few days completely lost.

We definitely did have moments where we stood in the middle of a station looking around wondering where on earth we were supposed to be going.

But honestly?

Japan ended up being far easier to travel around than we'd expected.

These are the things that genuinely helped us.

Google Maps deserves all the credit

If we had to pick one app that made the biggest difference during our time in Japan, it would be Google Maps.

Not Instagram.

Not a fancy Japan travel app.

Just Google Maps.

Before we landed we'd read loads of people saying how good it was for public transport, and they weren't exaggerating.

Type where you want to go.

Tap Directions.

Select the train option.

That's it.

It tells you exactly which train to catch, which platform you need, how many stops there are, how long the journey takes and how much it'll cost.

It even tells you when you've missed one by about six seconds, which happened to us more than once.

The really clever bit is that it isn't just useful in Tokyo.

We use it all over Japan.

Whether we were navigating the Tokyo Metro, catching local trains around Osaka or working out buses in smaller towns, it was consistently brilliant.